I was feeling extra lazy today, so I did a "no sparge" instead of my typical batch sparge. I've been leary of trying this because my mash tun is only 36 quarts. I had 11 lbs of grain and I filled the cooler to the brim with about 7.5 gallons of water. I collected about 6.25 gallons in one runnings and got an efficiency of 68%. My usual batch sparge efficiency is 75%, so this wasn't too bad. My 5.25 gallon batch was about 1.052 OG...which is about the max for my little mash tun...but 70% of the beers I brew have an OG around this level. Might have to do this more often.

I was feeling extra lazy today, so I did a "no sparge" instead of my typical batch sparge. I've been leary of trying this because my mash tun is only 36 quarts. I had 11 lbs of grain and I filled the cooler to the brim with about 7.5 gallons of water. I collected about 6.25 gallons in one runnings and got an efficiency of 68%. My usual batch sparge efficiency is 75%, so this wasn't too bad. My 5.25 gallon batch was about 1.052 OG...which is about the max for my little mash tun...but 70% of the beers I brew have an OG around this level. Might have to do this more often.

Now take your lazy to the next level.

Ditch the mash tun and drop your grains into a large bag and mash in your boil pot.

With beers lower than 1.055 I get about 85% efficiency and just have to rinse out the bag.

I was hesitant to try the no sparge method. If you are getting only a small drop in efficiency, I might have to give it a whirl. I wonder how big the drop would be if you're doing 10 or 12 gallon batches.